5. The Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell was ordered in 1751 for the Philadelphia State House. It was cast in London and
weighed one ton. On the bell was inscribed:
" Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land to the Inhabitants Thereof." (Lev: 25:10).
The Liberty Bell was cast to celebrate the 50th year of the Constitution of Pennsylvania, known as the
Charter of Privileges. The words "Proclaim Liberty throughout the land" are inscribed on the bell.
Bells consist of 78% copper and 22% tin. The metals are heated to 1900 F. and impurities are
removed. The bell cracked during a test in 1752 and was recast twice the next year. From 1753 until the
Revolution, the bell was used to announce meetings, protest taxation, celebrations, and to toll in
mourning. The Liberty Bell rang on July 8, 1776, to announce the Declaration of Independence. It was
buried from September 1777 to June 1788 to prevent its capture by the British. The bell next rang on
April 16, 1783, at the proclamation of Peace and was rung thereafter on every State occasion. It
cracked again on July 8, 1835 when it tolled the death of Chief Justice John Marshall. The bell was
repaired to ring on February 22, 1846, Washington's birthday, but it immediately cracked again. It has
been struck only twice since, once on April 6, 1917, when America declared war on Germany and lastly
on June 6, 1944, to announce Allied landings in Normandy.
The Statue of Liberty was a given by the French people to the American people in 1874. She is made of
sheet copper, is 151 feet high, and stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. Under her arm is a
book on which is inscribed "July 4, 1776." At her feet are broken shackles. The sculptor was Frederic
Auguste Bartholdi. She was assembled atop a 154 foot high pedestal and was dedicated by President
Grover Cleveland on October 28, 1886. Inside the pedestal on a tablet is inscribed the sonnet "The
New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus (1849-1887).
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land.
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame,
is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of exiles. From her beacon-hand
glows world-wide her welcome;
her mild eyes command
the air bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
with silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
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